


"When Is Your Birthday?"

by falling_light



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Angst, Gen, Memories, Repressed Memories, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 05:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falling_light/pseuds/falling_light
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sort of "what if?" fic that I had in the back of my mind, based off of a random thought I had. What if Homura had fought for so long that she forgot when her own birthday was?</p>
            </blockquote>





	"When Is Your Birthday?"

To think something so simple managed to catch her off guard. She was a girl that had learned much from experience - perhaps even more than the average human being: her posture was infallibly straight; no word from her mouth was superfluous, to the point where one would think that she knew what was going to be said; even her eyes seemed to take in her surroundings and adapt to every little variable. 

No one had any hope of piercing through the barrier that surrounded Homura Akemi. All but one. 

“My birthday?”

Her cold and disinterested glare melted. In an instant her eyes connected with those of the girl who stood at her desk. Madoka. Her voice showed no signs of malice when she asked that one question. She had even ignored Mami and Sayaka’s warnings not to get close to her. All she wanted to do was try and be friends with her once more. Homura felt her heart sink, and her throat begin to dry. 

The flow of time had become distorted, wrapping around her and Madoka. Even she was unaware of how the mechanics worked, and she didn’t have time to waste pondering it. Reliving the same month over and over had begun to take its toll upon Homura - of which this was one of the first signs. It didn’t take the average person this long to answer the question of “when is your birthday?”, and Homura used to be no exception.

Now was different. She was replaying her memories back in her head, again and again. Every single one of them. Most of them were from the battles that she had fought. The immaculate plans that she had made to ensure Incubator did not make contact with Madoka. The calculations she had made for the ballistics of every weapon she held. 

Soon she ran out of visual memories and moved onto mere sounds. Bombs. Gunshots. Words of encouragement. Screams. Kyubey’s voice telling her how her wish had surpassed entropy. Grief Seeds clinking as they rolled across the floor. The teacher speaking. Kyoko, Sayaka, Mami and Madoka’s voices.

If I keep thinking back, she told herself, maybe I’ll find it. Maybe I’ll reach the memories from the moment I met her. 

She could feel her hands begin to shake a little. Uneasiness swirled around in her stomach and she wanted to scream. Though she knew she couldn’t do it. 

“Homura?” 

Nothing.

There was nothing there.

“S-sorry,” Homura said, swallowing a little “I didn’t mean to space out there.”

Her voice was calm once again.

“Oh, that’s okay. You can tell me later if you want.”

Madoka smiled apologetically. She could sense that she had caused Homura some discomfort, and always felt bad at causing people trouble. As she turned away, her smile turned to a small frown. She didn’t mean for Homura to see it, but the other girl was too observant.

“Wait.”

Her voice made Madoka stop.

“Is something wrong, Homura?” she asked, putting on a smile again.

“Was there a reason you asked me when my birthday was? My birthday isn’t until much later in the year.”

Thank goodness she was able to come up with a white lie so quickly. Perhaps when this is all over, she thought to herself, I’ll check my medical records and they’ll give me the answer.

“Uh, well. It’s kind of embarrassing … but I saw you making a list in class. Were you thinking of things that you wanted?”

Homura felt as if she was going to be sick. She couldn’t let Madoka see that scrap of paper at all costs.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”


End file.
